KPMG Law enters partnership with Legal Tech firm Plexus

14 May 2019Consultancy.com.au

Global professional services firm KPMG has bolstered its capabilities in Australia’s legal scene through the investment in Melbourne-based legal technology player Plexus.

Plexus was established in 2010, and has operations in Sydney in addition to its headquarters in Melbourne. The firm’s expertise lies in facilitating legal compliance in the contemporary scenario, characterised by increasingly stringent regulations and the growing reliance on technology.

The firm specialises in a number of legal areas, including media law, trade promotion, legal automation and property. Plexus has now received a Series-A capital raise of nearly $4.65 million, with Big Four accounting and advisory firm KPMG one of the investors. Under terms of the transaction, KPMG will reportedly hold just shy of 10% in Plexus.

“For over eight years Plexus has been at the cutting edge of legal innovation – we couldn’t be more excited to work together to accelerate our combined vision to create the future of law,” said Stuart Fuller, who leads KPMG Law in the Asia Pacific region.

KPMG Law hopes to benefit from the illustrious clientele of Plexus, which it has amassed primarily through its legal automation platform by the name of Plexus Gateway. Rated by technology research business Gartner as ‘Best Practice’ for legal functions last year, Plexus’ legal automation platform, Plexus Gateway, allows over 100 clients around the world – including Woolworths, L’Oréal and KPMG – to deliver legal work more efficiently.

The two parties have in addition entered into a strategic alliance, meaning KPMG Law is authorised to use Plexus Gateway for service to its own client base. “Combined with KPMG Law’s range of core and new solutions, it will allow us to provide a single access, one-stop platform to our clients,” explained Fuller.

The partnership comes at a time when the legal technology industry is booming, both locally and internationally as clients demand more efficient modes of legal services delivery. Valued at $15.9 billion today, the industry is expected to grow by over 100% per year for the next three years, compared to 3% to 4% growth for the spending on lawyers.

Andrew Mellet, CEO of Plexus commented on the partnership, saying,” Our research shows that, like many other industries, legal executives are choosing technology over human investment. General counsel now recognise they need to invest in technology to free up their people to have more strategic impact.”

“We are at the dawn of a 20-year transformation of one of the world’s most conservative industries. We believe that in the future, legal services will be delivered with the ease we expect of flicking a light switch,” he added.

The move comes on the back of an expansion of KPMG Law in Canberra, where the firm launched a specialised legal practice that will focus on government contracts. The practice was estalblished under the leadership of Phillip Jones-Hope, a KPMG executive with over two decades of legal experience.